2 . There are lots of children across the US who are living in residential treatment facilities (疗养中心). Many of these young people have _________ serious trauma (心理创伤) in their lives.

“People seldom know that they’re there,” said Mike Ball, whose nonprofit, Lost Voices, works with these teens. Bal first _________ this population of youth in 2005 after he was _________ to speak about his writing career at a college.

As a writer and music lover, Ball knew songwriting could have a _________ effect on these young people. He had other local musicians _________ for the project, and Lost Voices was born in 2007. The organization _________ weeklong programs where musicians go into residential treatment facilities to help children to write songs and find their voice.

“I’m often _________ by the songs they write,” Ball said. “Sometimes they’re silly, but heartbreakingly real.” Ball has been writing and playing music since he was a child. He made a career out of his _________. He’s known the power and freedom that comes from _________ personal stories. “Expressing yourself is really essential,” Ball said.

A key __________ of the Lost Voices program is the trauma-informed care approach, which Ball and his team are specifically __________ to carry out. They create a nonjudgmental space where kids from all walks of life can __________ express their thoughts and work through difficult __________.

The program has __________ more than 2,500 kids. For Ball and his team, working with these populations can be demanding at times, but he said it’s __________ to do it.

The Giant Panda National Park,     1     officially came into being in 2021, is a hugely ambitious project.     2     (cover) an area of 27, 000 square kilometers of countryside in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces, the park is a massive drive     3     (protect) China’s pandas.

In Wannian Village, however, the news     4     (greet) with some anxiety. Thousands of people were already living in the area when the park was announced. And many of them were making a living through     5     (activity) that were illegal under the new policy.

For decades, mining and hydropower (水电) were the main industries in Wannian. The projects were     6     (profit) and created a lot of jobs. But the mines were ruinous to the local environment.

There only appeared to be one way out: turning the village     7     a tourist hotspot. Wannian has several natural advantages: it’s only 200 kilometers from Chengdu. The village also sits right on the southern tip of the park, making it     8     great jumping-off point for visitors. Plus, the nearby panda training center is famous all over China.

Local officials     9     (immediate) set about rebranding (重塑形象) Wannian as a “panda village”. The place was given a complete makeover. Cute panda sculptures were placed along the winding path leading from the highway. The newly     10     (build) hotels have attracted visitors nationwide.

5 . It all began on a cold, rainy day．

Sarah, a poor single mother, was ________ to make ends meet. While waiting for the bus with her two children, Sarah ________ an old man sitting on a nearby bench. He was shivering (颤抖), his ________ jacket providing little protection against the freezing weather.

Sarah ________ the man and offered him her coat. She knew it would make her cold, but the thought of this stranger ________ while she had something to give was too much to bear. ________ by her selflessness, the man thankfully accepted the coat and gave back a smile. Little did Sarah know that her simple act of ________ would make a huge difference.

A man, who saw the heartwarming ________, took a photo and shared it on social media. The post quickly became a ________, with thousands of people sharing and commenting on Sarah’s ________. Encouraged by her, people began organizing events to ________ those less lucky. Schools added lessons on the ________ of helping others, and businesses started a “pay it forward” project, where people could buy more and leave the ________ meal for those in need.

Reflecting on this unbelievable journey, we can ________ our individual power, which may create an effect that would ________ reach every corner of the globe.

9 . Self-driving cars are hitting city streets like never before. In August the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) granted (授予) two companies, Cruise and Waymo, permits to run driverless robo-taxis 24/7 in San Francisco and to charge passengers for those rides. This was just the latest in a series of green lights that have allowed progressively more freedom for autonomous vehicles (AVs) in the city in recent years.

Almost immediately, Cruise was criticized for its vehicles behaving unpredictably. One blocked the road outside a large music festival, and another got stuck in wet concrete. The incidents have brought renewed attention to the potential difficulties of integrating self-driving cars into the urban environment.

Yet despite some ongoing opposition, self-driving car companies have continued to expand testing and operations to more US cities. Many supporters say these vehicles could offer a safer alternative to human drivers, make transportation accessible to more people, improve traffic flows around cities and decrease the environmental impact of cars. So far, though, most of those promised benefits remain squarely in a possible future. Meanwhile, here in the present, complications have become plainly apparent.

AVs, such as those operated by Cruise and Waymo, shouldn’t be confused with commercially available cars, such as electric cars, which come with some driver-assistance features. Unlike those vehicles, which require a human driver to oversee control at all times, robo-taxis run on the road without a person monitoring and managing each movement from behind a steering wheel (方向盘). This is made possible by a very detailed internal map.

Waymo and Cruise maintain that their AVs are safer than human drivers. Both companies have released data that they claim support this, yet some researchers have their doubts. “I actually think there is not yet enough data available to the public, including researchers like me, to be able to judge relative safety,” says Steven Shladover, an engineer at the University of California.

10 . I started considering the power of dogs during one of my daily walks around my neighborhood. Almost invariably, I’ll run into at least one person walking his dog. It’s a joyous moment to approach the dog and pet it. I always walk away from these exchanges feeling just a bit more relaxed and happy. And that got me wondering: Could these short interactions with other people’s dogs actually be good for me?

“Absolutely. I think it is safe to say that animals are beneficial to our mental and physical health,” says Nancy Gee, a professor of psychology at Virginia Commonwealth University. Gee says there’s some evidence that the act of actually touching a dog might be an important part of the calming effect. For instance, one study done in Canada found college students reported less stress and reduced feelings of homesickness after brief interactions with dogs, and that the effect was much bigger in those who actually got to pet the animals.

Now, the therapy (治疗) dogs used in research are screened for things like friendliness, good behavior and responsiveness to their handler’s cues (提示). And of course, not everyone is a dog person. “Pets are not a panacea (灵丹妙药),” Gee says. “They’re not necessarily going to be great for every single person. But for people who really connect with the animals, they can make a big difference.”

Research on the health benefits of human interactions with animals, especially with dogs, has exploded in recent years, thanks to the support of the National Institutes of Health and the Waltham PetCare Science Institute. Though the field is still young, Gee says the quality of the evidence is improving all the time, including more randomized controlled trials looking at short interactions. “We’re seeing really nice effects,” she says. “We actually saw those effects one month later. And there’s some evidence that they may exist six months later.”